Edmonton Remains Aggressive in Pursuits of Trading One of Their Forwards
Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland cannot be impressed with the way his salary cap looks right now. Without long-term injured reserve, the Oilers would be $6.7 million over the NHL's salary cap, and they have several contracts of which Holland would like to unburden himself.
Tyson Barrie's $4.5 million had to be near the top of Holland's 'to-move' list going into this summer, but one report suggests he has been unsuccessful in his efforts thus far. Consequently, Ryan Rishaug suggests Edmonton has remained aggressive in their attempts to trade forward Jesse Puljujärvi. A polarizing forward, Puljujärvi's production failures has left Oilers' fans disappointed and frustrated, many supporting the idea of trading him.
Continuing to pursue all trade options for Puljujarvi - the most obvious move to clear out some cap space. If it doesn't happen they can still start with what they've got but it'll be razor thin margin budget-wise and could cause issues later in season.
Don't believe Barrie is a likely trade option at this point, they'll start the year with what they have on the blue-line, see how it goes. Pairings feel up in the air as well, may take shape through camp. Don't sense a PTO coming on D."
Puljujärvi managed 36 points in 65 games in which he spent most of his ice-time with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman. Considering the output of those two, Puljujärvi's is unacceptable. On the other hand, however, Puljujärvi is a forechecking machine, and he has great possession abilities. His biggest flaw is his inability to turn possession into goals, despite having ample opportunity alongside Connor McDavid. So what gives?
Personally, I think Edmonton should keep Puljujärvi for another season and trust that he can sort out his finishing woes. The fourth-overall pick from Finland dominates play against top-competition, he just cannot seem to bury chances at an effective rate. If Holland could flip him for a blue-chip player around the same age, fine. Anything short of bonafide blue-chip is a downgrade, and they would be wise to be stingy with JP.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 18, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Greenway | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Beck Malenstyn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Owen Power | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
| Bowen Byram | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||